Telluride Foundation: Celebrating 2024 Scholars!

27 May Telluride Foundation: Celebrating 2024 Scholars!

The Telluride Foundation awards annual college scholarships.

Go here for more about the Telluride Foundation (back to 2009).

Pictured left to right: Loudon Doemland, attending University of Arizona; Samuel O’Dell, attending Colorado School of Mines; Angelica Saldin, attending California State Long Beach Jaden Lopez, attending Montana State University. Image courtesy the Telluride Foundation.

The Telluride Foundation has helped students achieve their dream of attending college since its inception in 2000 and, this year, the Foundation awarded a record number of scholarships through its three primary scholarship programs. At graduation and award ceremonies this spring, the Telluride Foundation awarded almost $480,000 in scholarships to 37 students.

Scholarships to 2023 Chang Chavkin Scholars included 22 current college students receiving up to $15,000 per student. This fall the Chang Chavkin Scholars program will fund an additional 6 scholars as incoming college freshman bringing the total number of scholars to 28. In addition, the Foundation awarded two Neil Armstrong Scholarships of $20,000 each, two Neil Armstrong Merit Scholarships of $5,000 each, and five $2,000 Telluride Foundation Scholarships.

At KOTO Community Radio’s virtual Telluride High School Awards Night on May 21st, graduating seniors Angelica Saldin and Loudon Doemland each received the eleventh annual $20,000 Neil Armstrong Scholarship. Both were selected from a very competitive pool of applicants. The scholarship committee based their decision on outstanding academics, strong interest in STEM, perseverance, and need. Saldin will be attending California State Long Beach, studying nursing, and Doemland will be attending University of Arizona, studying mechanical engineering.

The scholarship committee also wanted to recognize the STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math) achievements of two other Telluride students, awarding them each a $5,000 Neil Armstrong Merit Scholarship: Jaden Lopez attending Montana State University, studying criminology and Samuel O’Dell attending Colorado School of Mines, studying mechanical engineering.

The friends and family of Neil Armstrong created the Neil Armstrong Scholarship Fund to honor the achievements and character of the late American hero and astronaut who died in 2012. The Neil Armstrong Scholarship is awarded each year to a regional high school student pursuing a Bachelor of Science degree in a STEM field. Students from Telluride, Norwood, Ouray, Ridgway, and Nucla/Naturita school districts are eligible to apply. New this year, the scholarship committee chose to award a total of four scholarships.

The Telluride Foundation also provides $2,000 scholarships to recipients selected by the administrations from each of the five regional school districts. Seniors receiving the Telluride Foundation Scholarship include Hannah Browning (Norwood); Steele Arnold (West End); Caleb Crandall (Ouray); Ely Patterson (Ridgway); and Lucy Messier and Aidan Kress (Telluride), who will split the $2,000 award.

In addition to the Neil Armstrong and Telluride Foundation scholarships, the Foundation also manages the Chang Chavkin Scholars Program.

Every year, the Chang Chavin Scholars Program selection committee looks forward to choosing a new round of scholars, currently in their junior year, who will graduate the following year.

“As we extend our reach to nine regional school districts, we’re gaining deeper insights into the unique strengths and challenges students face, not only within their homes but also within their schools,” said Valene Baskfield, Director of the Chang Chavkin Scholars Program. “The scholars chosen this year exhibited remarkable perseverance in overcoming obstacles that tested their resilience and resourcefulness. We’re eagerly looking forward to getting to know them better in the upcoming year and discovering the most effective ways to support their journey towards becoming first in their family to achieve a college degree.”

This year’s application pool included over 30 applicants from nine regional school districts – Montrose, Delta, Ridgway, Ouray, Telluride, Norwood, Nucla/Naturita, Dolores, and Montezuma-Cortez.

Graduating seniors receiving Chang Chavkin scholarships, who worked with Baskfield over the past year on their college applications, include Dilyn Alexander (Norwood) attending the Colorado Mesa University; Ana Asavei (Delta) attending Boston University; Shandra Findley (Montrose) attending University of Colorado, Boulder; Peyton Porter (Norwood) attending Colorado State University with the option to transfer to Cornell University her sophomore year; Angelica Saldin (Telluride) attending California State Long Beach; and Tiffany Wu (Montrose) attending Harvey Mudd College.

The Chang Chavkin Scholars Program provides college scholarships, college advising, and support to selected high-achieving, first-generation students. The scholarship alone provides up to $60,000 over four years; however, the real aim of the Program is to work with students to find the best school match that aligns with their potential.

Baskfield explained that the Program “takes a personalized approach tailored to meet a range of individual needs. Each year, we gather valuable insights that enable us to fine-tune our program, ensuring it effectively caters to the diverse needs of our scholars, schools, and communities.”

Scholars receive ongoing college advising and support to ensure they have accurate information and essential resources to attend their best fit school based on affordability and quality of education.

For more information on the Chang Chavkin Scholars Program, please visit https://changchavkinscholars.org/.

Additionally, the Telluride Foundation partners with several organizations and committees that provide scholarships to deserving students, including the Sparky/Latina and San Miguel Power Association scholarships.

“Our scholarship programs are some of the most rewarding investments the Foundation makes in our region, and we are continually inspired by the scholars’ passion and commitment to furthering their education,” said Jason Corzine, President & CEO of the Telluride Foundation. “We are also grateful for the generous donors who believe in the importance of empowering the next generation of leaders through these scholarship opportunities.”

Telluride Foundation, more:

The Telluride Foundation is committed to enriching the quality of life of the residents, workforce, and visitors of the Telluride region. It is a nonprofit, apolitical community foundation that makes grants and runs programs in arts, education, health and human services, community development, and social enterprises. The Foundation strives to achieve excellence for the community through its mission and core values of inclusion, self-reliance, and innovation.

Our work is funded through the generous support of hundreds of donors as well as grants from state and national foundations.

Please visit www.telluridefoundation.org.